‘Wicked’ REVIEW: Retelling The Misunderstood Villain Formula
‘Wicked’ REVIEW: Retelling The Misunderstood Villain Formula
Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba (left) and Ariana Grande as Galinda/Glinda (right) in Wicked || Still taken from Universal Pictures International
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who play Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, shine through their roles as they perfectly embody the iconic duo’s charm and chemistry under Jon Chu’s direction.
By now, the premise of Wicked is something many theatergoers — if not all, are familiar with. It is the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West — Elphaba, the public enemy number one and the villain of the iconic classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The film starts with a call back to the 1939 film with a glimpse of Elphaba’s demise after Dorothy (initially played by Judy Garland) spills water on her (known as the witch’s weakness). Soon after, news spreads like wildfire, informing the citizens of Oz about Elphaba’s death, Glinda confirms the rumor.
Glinda, who had previously crossed paths with Elphaba, is seen uneasy as everyone celebrates the death of a friend she parted ways with, someone whose motivations she knew and understood. She then reminisces on Elphaba's past, a glimpse of her childhood, and how she was treated, leading to the untold story of her origins. Upon looking into the Broadway precursor of the film, most parts have remained primarily faithful. Regardless of the source material, Glinda’s moment of recalling her connections with Elphaba effectively persuaded me as an audience to empathize and connect with Elphaba’s character.
The film employs a typical weird-girl trope where the weird girl is just basically a talented person or prodigy who is misunderstood by the majority. They are also sometimes attributed with a peculiar characteristic, which, in this case, is Elphaba’s green skin.
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) during a scene where she showcases her magical abilities in one critical scene || Still taken from Universal Pictures International
Of course, the rest of the film follows a similar plot to its original Broadway counterpart, with minor changes, such as how the film is edited to make it translate better on the big screen. The main thing we need to address is the music and how it is produced for the film — this is partly what’s holding back the movie from being flawless.
The choreography is honestly outstanding. The movements are sharp and perfectly synchronized. The effects were pristine and crisp and put me in a trance. Standouts include scenes such as Glinda’s grand entrance with her giant bubble (which made me express my admiration for how flawless it looks to the friend I am seated with), the animal VFX that has a convincing, realistic effect but still evoked emotions and rendered marvelously on the screen (a problem I had with the Lion King live-action remake), and, of course, the magic in the action sequences itself.
As a non-expert when it comes to music production, I genuinely feel that a lot of the musical numbers need more grit and passion put into it. Listening to it, they came off as way sanitized or too clean. It feels such a waste of Cynthia Erivo’s prowess since belting out a powerful vocal performance is nothing new for the “almost EGOT status” artist. And as you are reading this, you are probably wondering about the song everybody is waiting for.
Galinda/Glinda (Ariana Grande) shows a hat to Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) || Still taken from Universal Pictures International
I would be a liar if I said that “Defying Gravity” was not my most anticipated part. For the sake of discourse, I’ll say that Jon Chu’s creative decision for “Defying Gravity” is not my favorite rendition. I’m already seeing this path taken by Chu, direction-wise, as something polarizing and possibly prompting people into some heated discussions. A hot take? We will find out when more people witness it on the big screen.
From what I have picked up on, it is, perhaps, trying to elicit a sense of spontaneity by chopping it up and extending the number to cover the entire climax. During certain moments when I was on the verge of tears, I felt the song ricochet at certain parts where Elphaba and Glinda engage in a conversation — disturbing the song's flow. The song itself is already the tandem’s parting conversation. It should be self-explanatory, not needing the extra spoken words that dragged the moment too much, which was supposed to be the cherry on top of this picture—kind of ironic for the climax to be anti-climactic in certain parts.
A favorite of mine is the Ozdust Ballroom scene. That is the typical prom moment that you see in other films where it hits a switch in the protagonist’s mind. Here, Elphaba wears the pointy black hat formerly owned by Glinda to the ballroom night. She deems the hat hideous and says she will not even wish to give it to her worst enemies. As everyone starts laughing at her, Elphaba — prior to arriving at the ball, convinces Madam Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) that Glinda should be included in her exclusive sorcery class. Glinda’s feelings towards Elphaba take a complete 180, from loathing her — to empathizing and seeing Elphaba as different and misunderstood. As Elphaba is being laughed at for wearing the ‘hideous’ hat to the ball, she starts to bust out some ‘weird’ dance moves where Glinda joins her, and everybody’s laughter turns into admiration. The entire scene fortifies the two main characters' sisterly bond and their dynamic development as the story progresses.
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) adorning her signature Wicked Witch of the West attire || Still taken from Universal Pictures International
The performances here are also fantastic. Ariana Grande delivers her Glinda-isms remarkably. As someone well-familiar with the dumb-blonde trope, I’m inclined to point out: she has provided so much camp into her dumb-blonde persona and exceeded my expectations. Every moment on the screen is such a good time; she is practically shining throughout the film.
Jonathan Bailey, who plays Fiyero Tigelaar, is perfect for the role—a charming, eye-candy guy with the actual talent to perform. The entire ensemble was great overall. My only nitpick is that Munchkinland did not bring forth that much Munchkinland energy.
Also, prepare yourselves for very powerful cameos of revered actors — or actresses, that I won’t spoil. It was so impactful, I gasped for air so loud inside the cinema. You’ll know it when they show up. The iconic duo is pretty hard to miss.
The film as a whole is a delight, and I would definitely watch it all over again. For movies about the “misunderstood villain” — such as Maleficent, Cruella, and Joker, to name a few — Jon Chu’s cinematic translation of the Broadway hit stands out among the rest. I recommend that people watch it as soon as possible while it’s available in movie theaters. There are choices—direction-wise, I did not love, but I would refrain from describing the entire film as dull. His Wicked is simply to showcase who did it first, regardless of form and medium, and it definitely sets the stage so these iconic villains could commence their cinematic run.
‘Wicked’ is now showing in Philippine cinemas.
